Vanilla Kiss
by mxngo
Summary: Lelouch Lamperouge finds himself in debt towards a woman who uses him for her own personal pleasure. HIATUS.
1. Bruised Kiss

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Code Geass._

**Summary: **_Lelouch Lamperouge finds himself in debt towards a woman who uses him for her own personal pleasure. _

* * *

><p><strong>Vanilla Kiss<strong>

xx

_Chapter One  
>x<br>__Bruised Kiss_

_xx_

Monday, the start of the tiring work week.

After a busy weekend with his younger sister, Lelouch Lamperouge, a simple teller working in Japan's finest bank, was heading back to his regular routine. He didn't mind routine. Routine gave him money. Money for his apartment, money for food, money for his ill younger sister.

At age of ten, Lelouch's parents died in a car accident that was caused by a damned drunk driver. It also rendered his younger sister, Nunnally Lamperouge, paralysed. Hope was not lost since he had his maternal grandmother to live with. Despite being retired, she had enough money saved up to raise the siblings until her death just two years ago. Their grandmother's death couldn't have came at a more difficult time. Prior to their grandmother's death by stroke, Nunnally was fell ill. So ill, she spent every waking moment at the hospital.

It was the only option they had, expensive or not, to keep Nunnally alive. Lelouch vowed to protect his sister, to do everything for her. He made a promise with his parents, grandmother, Nunally and himself that he will not let another soul from his family depart the world.

But the bills of the hospital were beginning to take a toll on Lelouch. His grandmother's hard earned savings was nothing but a few coins in a piggy bank, not literally speaking. The savings were dying out. And his salary from his job could only manage to provide him a shelter and food, not enough to pay hospital bills.

He worked at Rising Sun Bank, the national bank of Japan. It was famous. People considered Lelouch lucky to work within such a renowned firm but Lelouch didn't consider himself lucky at all. The bank paid well but not enough to keep his sickly sister alive.

Heaving a sigh deep from his chest, Lelouch pushed the revolving door open.

"Good morning Mr. Lamperouge."

Turning his head and bowing politely, Lelouch greeted the middle age security guard who worked the morning shift.

"Morning, Jin."

He walked towards the elevator. Their staff lounge was located a floor below the main part of the bank; below the tellers and the cash machines. Pressing the button with an arrow pointing downwards, Lelouch waited for the next elevator to ding open. He was too absorbed in thought, mostly stressing over how long his grandmother's savings will last, Lelouch failed to pick up the arrival of the heir of the bank.

"Good morning, Miss Yukito," the staff on the main floor greeted the beautiful young heiress as soon as she revolving doors freed her.

She paid them no mind. It was not everyday she visited her family's business. And when she did visit, she did not come for mindless chit chat with the staff that was below her in every possible way.

In contrast to Lelouch, who was heading a floor down, she was going up towards the highest floor. The highest floor was the office of her father, Kaname Yukito. When she did visit her father's business, it was mostly to visit her father about essentials. One time she came to ask her father to pay for her plane ticket to Greece, despite having a platinum credit card.

She pressed the button with the arrow pointing towards the heavens. This finally caught Lelouch's eyes.

He turned his head, his violet eyes glancing down towards the daughter of his boss, C.C. Yukito. Quickly, he bowed down to show respect. Lelouch didn't want to lose his job for ignoring his boss's daughter though the chances of that ever happening were slim to none.

"Good morning, Miss Yukito."

Again, since he was lowly staff, C.C. paid him no mind.

Lelouch excepted her to react like that. Of all the times he or anyone else greeted her, they had not once heard a reply back. C.C. never spoke to any of her father's _minions._ She didn't come to socialize; she only came to the bank for her own personal gain.

The two elevator doors dinged open, one going up and one going down. C.C. was closer to her elevator, so she strolled in first, dropping her cellphone in the process. Right before it dropped onto the tiled floor, it was hanging out of the front pocket of her bag. It looked like she carelessly slipped her phone in, not caring if anything were to happen to it.

"Miss Yukito, wait." Lelouch reached out and slide his arm into the elevator C.C. was in to prevent the doors from sliding shut. In the other hand he managed to pick up her metallic pearl yellow cellphone of a high named brand. "You dropped your cellphone. Here you go." He held out the cellphone, his head bowed towards her. That's how respectful he was.

Slowly, C.C. took the cellphone from him. Their fingertips brushed together for a nanosecond before C.C. retrieved her hand.

"Thank you."

Raising his head, the two finally made eye contact with one another.

Lelouch has seen C.C. many times before; her long green hair and amber eyes. He's seen her the few times she visits her father during his shifts. Like any other man and woman that has seen her, he is clearly aware that she is beautiful, like a porcelain doll hand crafted by angels. Only a fool would give little appreciation to C.C.'s remarkable beauty.

By all means, Lelouch was no fool.

"Have a good day, Miss Yukito."

Instead of Lelouch being mesmerized by the beauty before his very own eyes, it seemed to be the other way around. C.C. was left speechless by the kindness of of a man who she labelled as a lowly staff member.

They held eye contact with one another, Lelouch smiling as he did before the doors shut, cutting them off.

"Woah." Suzaku Kurasagi, Lelouch's co-worker and best friend, approached him from behind, swinging an arm over his shoulder. "Woah, Miss Yukito finally acknowledged one of us." He slugged Lelouch jokingly. "You're one lucky bastard."

Lelouch brushed him off and headed towards his still waiting elevator. Suzaku quickly entered as well since he worked the same shift that Monday morning.

"Don't you have a wife, Suzaku?"

For almost a year now, Suzaku was married to his childhood sweetheart, Euphemia Prince, a half Japanese and American college student. In fact, she was four months pregnant with their first child. They had yet to find out whether they were having a son or daughter. Both didn't mind which gender. Just as long as their baby was healthy they would be over the moon.

"Yes and I love her dearly but as a fan of beauty, I have to admire the beautiful things in life." Sometimes Suzaku was full of nonsense that only Lelouch had the patience for. "And Miss Yukito is certainly beautiful."

A groan came into the elevator. It belonged to reddish pinked haired woman who they knew to be Kallen Stratfeld. While everyone knew C.C. was beautiful, not everyone placed her on a high pedestal. Most of the women certainly didn't. Men considered them fools since they did not appreciate C.C.'s beauty. To defend their opinions, the women say that would appreciate her eye catching beauty if she wasn't a _witch._

"Every time that damn girl comes here all I hear about is _'Miss Yukito_' this and _'Miss Yukito'_ that." Kallen mimicked the voices of the employees who kissed the ground C.C. walked on. She wasn't a fan of the heiress. Not one bit.

Suzaku snorted.

"You're just jealous that a few days of the month men aren't drooling over your abundance of a chest," he shot back mockingly. "Am I right, Lelouch?"

Lelouch almost choked on air when Suzaku brought him into the conversation he preferred to be left out of.

"I really have no idea what you are talking about."

Kallen shot Suzaku a glare, hot air shooting out of her nostrils. Men always had a habit of riling her up. She was so annoyed with them and their sexist outlooks. Not once did she ever flaunt her chest. She was a teller. Flaunting of anything private was frowned upon. Perverted men always noticed her chest at first. Not her fault at all.

"You're such a typical male, Suzaku," she hissed out, coming off as a very pissed off woman. "I don't understand how Lelouch can be friends with the likes of you. Clearly, he has poor judgement in friends."

It was a rude remark, bringing Lelouch further into the conversation he didn't want to take part it.

"Geez, some people are grumpy in the morning."

The elevator doors opened to the staff lounge. The three occupants stepped off, Lelouch faster than the other two who were still mindlessly bickering about nonsense. He set his belongings on a table that was being used by the ever so friendly Shirely Fenette.

"Morning, Lulu!" Shirley's voice was like extra sugar on an already sugary fountain of sugar. It was too sweet for Lelouch's taste but he understood if some men find that part of Shirley attractive.

"How are you, Shirley?"

"Good, I'm good," she replied, voice becoming impossibly sweeter than her tone a few seconds ago. "How about you?"

He shrugged.

"My morning was fine until I got trapped into an elevator with Suzaku and Kallen." Lelouch gestured behind him as Suzaku and Kallen remained bickering by their lockers. It was unfortunate for everyone that Kallen and Suzaku had neighbouring lockers. They always argued.

Shirley shook her head despite having a small smile on her face. His noticed that Shirley never went a day without a smile.

"What are they arguing about this time?"

"It all started when Suzaku and I were talking about Miss Yukito."

Unlike Kallen, who disliked C.C., Shirley had no ill or negative feelings towards the heiress.

"That explains it all."

"Of course it explains it all," Suzaku declared as he manoeuvred towards the table Lelouch and Shirley were at. "Kallen is jealous over Miss Yukito, again. She always get angry whenever Miss Yukito is here or when her name is mentioned." He glanced towards Kallen immaturely. "Jealousy is not a fine trait, Kallen. You'll turn green with envy."

"You're pathetic," Kallen scowled, ending the pointless argument then and there.

Moving on from Kallen, Suzaku focused his attention back on towards Lelouch.

"Anyway, how did you feel when Miss Yukito spoke to you?" He sounded like an over hyper teenager in middle school. It was immature and lame - lamely cute.

Shirley almost spat out her Chai latte.

"She spoke to you?" Her eyes were wide with curiosity as she gawked at Lelouch.

Kallen rolled her eyes.

"She said '_Thank you'_. That's all she said and you guys are going bonkers. Typical male pigs."

"Hey, don't lump me with him," Lelouch argued, defending himself. He has done nothing to deserve being placed into the _typical male _category. "Sure, Miss Yukito is cute, I guess, but I'm not going to going fan boy crazy just because she utters two words to me for returning her dropped cellphone."

"I am not being a fan boy," Suzaku huffed lamely, feeling like he was going to be ganged on by his co-workers.

"You're such a gentleman, Lelouch," Shirley said, her voice going a notch sweeter. She was almost gushing.

"For picking up a phone?" Kallen cried out.

"Yeah, I know it seems like a simple act of kindness but if any other boy picked up Miss Yukito's cellphone, they would have definitely tried to get into her pants afterwards," she pointed out confidently.

There were moments, like this one, when Shirley almost shocked people into oblivion. They didn't even think she knew what phrase of _getting into someone's pants._ She didn't seem like the type to know. An innocent aura was what Shirley gave off; innocent and naive.

Kallen raised an eyebrow towards Lelouch. It was highly arched, as if she was already scrutinizing him.

"Do you plan on getting into her pants, Lelouch?"

.

.

.

It wasn't rare when a low ranked teller was asked to run an errand for the managers. Most of the errands usually consisted of fetching a group in a meeting or presentation lunch. As a teller, a low one at that, it was Lelouch's turn to fetch a few managers lunch. They were in a meeting, discussing how to teach people who to finance better. After retrieving their orders, the highest ranked manager just told Lelouch to tell the restaurant to put it on the tab of Tomoe Honda, a higher ranked boss.

Following the orders, Lelouch made his way towards the eatery just at the corner of the street.

The eatery wasn't far at all, a ten minute walk if the weather was permitting and the traffic of the people on the side walk was low. Since it was Monday and the meeting ran late, most people already had their lunch. The streets weren't crowded at all. Besides a few stray people, Lelouch was the only one on the sidewalk.

He turned the corner since the entrance was on the other side.

"Hey, babe, are you alone?"

Lelouch saw C.C. standing between two young adults who were _trying to get into her pants_. As usual, since they were scum to her, C.C. ignored them. Ignoring people was her speciality after all.

"Can you hear me?" The taller one continued to pester C.C. but she didn't seem to be all that bothered.

"Dude, I think she's ignoring us."

He saw C.C. roll her eyes for a nanosecond before the boys grew louder.

"Listen, you little whore, you can't just ignore me."

What the guy did next boiled Lelouch's blood to a heat similar to lava. He stuck his hand up C.C.'s short almost non-existence skirt. She shrieked in surprise and tensed up immediately.

"Don't touch her!" Mustering up his courage, which he had a lot from his father, Lelouch shoved the smaller guy into the large one which caused the two to trip over their own feet into the curb.

C.C. turned around to see that Lelouch was standing in front of her, his stance protective.

"You can't just go around touching girls like that!"

The larger one, about the same height as Lelouch but better built, smirked as he cracked his knuckles threateningly. He drew closer towards the two, the smaller one copying his every movement.

"Mind your own business, jackass. Who the hell do you think you are sticking your nose into somebody else's business?"

The man didn't scare Lelouch. Either he was that brave or that foolish.

"Who do you think you are sticking your hand up a lady's skirt?" He asked in the same ferocity.

The large one laughed heavily as he glanced quickly at C.C.

"You're mistaken, Dude. That's no lady; that's a whore."

It wasn't that Lelouch had a hero complex. That wasn't the reason why he was standing up for C.C. but he had integrity issues. His parents had thought him to respect others; no matter the nationality, the sex and the religion. His father taught him that if you love your mother and any other female family members, like a sister, you will respect all women. Seeing the two bastards harass C.C. showed Lelouch that the two did not respect women, especially their own mothers and sisters, if they had any. And that annoyed him. That prompted Lelouch to stand up for C.C.

And he was going to keep defending her.

"Take that back," his tone was threatening. "Take that back."

"Oh, and what are you going to do to me if I don't?"

Lelouch growled, ready to reply but C.C. tugged on his elbow.

"Do you have a death wish? Just leave it alone. I can handle myself."

He found that hard to believe. If she could handle it on her own, she would have spoken up minutes ago. Instead, she left the stand off drawl out even further than it should have lasted.

"Take back what you said about her." Lelouch wasn't going to be backing off any time. It as apparent in his dark violet eyes and overly courageous stance. He was foolish enough to think he would be able to survive a fist fight with two insanely built young men around his age.

"You pathetic piece of shit."

.

.

.

His body was achingly sore. Even his peaceful dreamless slumber felt the pain of his burning body. His face nagged the most at his nervous system. Every other pain failed in comparison when it came to of Lelouch's possible swollen face.

He groaned as his body and brain began to regain consciousness. Slumber was bidding him farewell as his body slowly but surely began to wake up in one piece. Waking up only caused his aches to double. Lelouch also felt something cold and raw resting on his cheek bone, just shy of his left eye. Cautiously touching it, he felt the thing to be dewy and moist. It was an ice pack.

"Ara, you're finally awake." Lelouch told himself he had heard that voice somewhere else before. He was resolute he heard that voice earlier during the day.

Lelouch push himself up to sit, one hand holding the ice pack still onto his tender cheek. It hurt as he pushed he ice pack a little too harshly into his cheek bone. He knew it was bruised. And if there was no purple mark yet, one would surely appear the next day.

C.C. knelt down in front of him, studying his face, mostly his swollen left cheek.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Yeah," he rasped out, his throat suddenly feeling dry as he regarded the cup of spring water in C.C.'s clutch.

She offered it to him and he took it graciously.

After a sip, he managed to ask, "What happened?"

"You pissed off the morons and they knocked you out with one punch." Lelouch blinked at her as the news settled in. It didn't take him that long to believe that he was knocked out by the jerks earlier. "I sprayed them with pepper spray, called my driver and had him bring us to my condo unit. You've been out for six hours. I was going to call the hospital-"

As C.C. continued to speak, Lelouch glanced at the wall clock on the northern wall. It was noon when he ran into the men and C.C. At that moment it was dinner time. He missed the remaining hours of work.

"What about my job?" He questioned, unknowingly cutting C.C. off.

"I called them as soon as it happened. I informed Tomoe Honda that you were in an accident, nothing serious, but probably wouldn't return for the remainder of your shift," C.C. explained to him, her tone unfaltering and confident.

Lelouch heaved a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to face the wrath of his boss due to missing the four hours left of his shift.

"Thank you." He was beyond grateful for C.C.'s kind act. It actually surprised him that she was being so friendly and hospitable towards him. All the rumours that he heard about her made her out to be a horny bitch.

Rumours were only rumours anyway.

"I should really get going now." Lelouch got up to leave, still holding onto the soggy ice pack.

C.C. nodded, following his actions.

"Before I forget, _St. Luke's International Hospital _called around five o'clock." Turning around, Lelouch looked down at C.C., waiting for her to proceed with her statement. "Your younger sister, Nunnally, was wondering why you haven't arrived for your daily visit." She handed him his cellphone, a sleek black yet older version of the more modern cellphones. "I told her you were busy but will try to make the visiting hours if you can."

Since it was only dinner time, Lelouch had about three hours left to spend time with Nunnally. Hopefully, C.C.'s condominium wasn't located too far from the hospital. He didn't want to be stuck in public transit for more than an hour trying to get to Nunnally.

"I really don't know how I can show you my thanks, Miss Yukito."

C.C. shrugged at him as she led him towards her main door.

"It's not a big deal." She opened the door for him and he stepped out. "There's a train stop about a block away. Getting to _St. Luke's_ should only take you about fifteen minutes." C.C. had an inkling Lelouch was opening his mouth to ask for directions.

Bowing, Lelouch was showing his utmost gratitude.

"Thank you."

Casting him a small wave, C.C. shut the door. Leaning against it, a small smile played on the corners of her lips.

"No, thank you, Lelouch Lamperouge..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _New story! _

_Since I'm almost done my other story, _**Green Silk and Golden Orbs** _[shameless plug is shameless], I decided to post up the very first chapter of_ **Vanilla Kiss **_to prepare you readers. I'm not entirely sure when I'll update this but it should be when I update the former mentioned fiction [which I still have a writer's block for :/]._

_To clarify a couple of things Lelouch and C.C. [as well as the other characters around Lelouch's age in the series] are all 21 years old. Explains why Euphemia is a college student [she's only twenty] and Nunnally is a sickly fourteen year old. All characters mentioned [eg., Kaname Yukito and Tomoe Hondo] are all side characters with mediocre to important appearances every now and then. _

_They may all seem OOC at the moment but let me try to defend the way I wrote them. In the original series, when Lelouch had no double life, he was a friendly, intelligent student and loving older brother. He was a born leader with charisma and courage. I made him like that here but more realistic [?]. After all, he is only an average twenty one year old bank employee here. As for C.C., for the sake of my story, she has to be like how I portrayed her here. But her wittiness will be a prominent trait of her's. Suzaku and Kallen are definitely OOC but I just wanted to add a pinch of spice to their professional relationship. Shirley is here as well; she'll be kind of important in the later on chapters. _

_Speaking of future chapters, I can somewhat guarantee this story be will longer than GSGC. Let's just see what happens from here._

_Oh and some of you may wonder why Lelouch is utterly grateful towards C.C. for macing the boys and why didn't she bother calling the police. I can answer the first part. Lelouch knew he would lose against the two men. He knew he would get seriously hurt if they were fought. When you look at it, it should be C.C. showing her thanks since Lelouch did save her from two morons trying to get into her pants. C.C.'s not the type to show gratitude and this Lelouch, kind older brother Lelouch with an ill younger sisters, could careless that C.C. didn't bother to thank him. He just wants to get to Nunnally as soon as allowed._

_Long author's note [sigh]..._

_Reviews are love but so are alerts and favourites. Try to at least do one [joking]._

_A reminder, this is loosely based on the manga _**Velvet Kiss** _by_ **Harumi Chihiro. **_That manga is sexual... But this story will not be sexual since I cannot write *those types of scenes at all. This is rated T for there will suggestive moments. _


	2. Annoyed Kiss

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Code Geass._

**Summary: **_Lelouch Lamperouge finds himself in debt towards a woman who uses him for her own personal pleasure._

* * *

><p><strong>Vanilla Kiss<strong>

xx

_Chapter Two  
>x<br>Annoyed Kiss_

xx

Lelouch arrived at the hospital a little after six o'clock in the evening. Nunnally was patiently waiting for him in her room, food untouched. She refused to eat until her loving older brother arrived. Dinner was the only meal the siblings could eat together as a family. Work during the day left Lelouch busy during lunch which he mostly spent with his co-workers or on his own. Dinner time was precious for them.

Dinner time was family time.

Nunnally's eyes were fixated on Lelouch just as she began to sip on her soup. The spot she was intensely staring at was Lelouch's left cheekbone. There was discolouration; a purple bruise was slowly starting to creep up against his fair complexion.

"Older brother, what happened to your cheek?" She asked curiously with a hint of worry. It wasn't everyday Lelouch came to visit her with a bruise. Actually, he never visited her with a bruise.

Too busy thinking about how to make up to Nunnally for being late, Lelouch forgot about his painful left cheekbone. As soon as she brought it up, the pain restarted. It didn't hurt as much as it did before. The pain was slowly disappearing but it stung every so often.

Running a feathery touch over the bruise, he merely shook his head to rid his sister of her worry. He didn't want her to worry over him; that was his job as an older brother.

"It's nothing. I just got into a little accident earlier today. Y'know how I clumsy I can be, Nunnally." He laughed at the end, easing up his sentence and lightening up the mood.

Nunnally giggled as well.

"You have to be more careful, Older brother. We couldn't have both Lamperouge children in the hospital, can we?" Again, she laughed.

Lelouch joined her but his laughter lacked humour. For somebody ill Nunnally had a carefree tone in her voice. She spoke as if she wasn't sick at all; as if she was perfectly fine and healthy. His heart pained at the thought of Nunnally growing accustomed to hospital life. He didn't want Nunnally to be accustomed to living in a hospital. That wasn't her home. Her home was with him, not in some white empty room.

"I don't mean to be nosy, Older brother, but who was that lady I spoke to earlier? She answered your phone while you were busy today." Clearly, she was referring to C.C., the green haired daughter of the CEO of the bank he worked for.

"Oh, that was Miss Yukito, daughter of the CEO of my job." His eyes shifted to look away from Nunnally. "I had left my phone out during one of my breaks. When you called Miss Yukito heard it and answered it on my behalf." Lelouch hated lying to her but he didn't want her to find out he got knocked out during an argument with a couple of teenage thugs.

Blinking a couple of times, Nunnally smiled.

"Wow, Miss Yukito must be a really nice person then. She was really friendly towards me over the phone."

Lelouch thought for a moment. He's never thought about C.C. being a nice person; he's never really thought about her in the first place. Now that he was thinking about her, Lelouch realized she was actually a decent person. She helped him out and probably saved his life. For that, he was grateful towards her.

One day he would show her his thanks.

"Yes, she is a nice person."

.

.

.

As soon as he came into work the next day Lelouch was hounded by questions from his co-workers, well from Suzaku, Kallen and Shirley. They heard from their Manager that he would not be returning due to an accident. They tried to reach him over phone, text and e-mail but he failed to reply to any of them. He stayed with Nunnally until visiting hours were closed, went home, cleaned, ate a snack and went to bed.

He was exhausted.

"Dude, what happened to your face?" Suzaku exclaimed just as Lelouch stepped out of the elevator. "Did you hit your eye on a doorknob or something?"

Lelouch briefly touched his bruise before scowling at his best friend. The pain had subsided as soon as he took some painkillers the night before. The pain had yet to come back; he didn't want the pain to come back.

"You can't just as questions like that, Suzaku!" Shirely reprimanded the brunette on Lelouch's behalf. She was always there to either protect him or take his side. She was a good friend and person that way. "You have to be more subtle!"

Kallen scowled this time.

"Please, he couldn't be subtle. He doesn't even know what it means."

"Can we stop talking about me all of a sudden and focus back on Lelouch? What happened to you?" Suzaku yelled.

Lelouch shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to go into deep explanation. He came to work to work not to have some bonding time with his friends. There were other times to find out but not before his shift that started in two minutes.

"I got into an accident; I'll explain what happened some other time," he answered coolly.

Suzaku wasn't going to back off.

"An accident... What kind of accident? Why did Miss Yukito call in for you?"

Honestly, Lelouch wasn't all that surprised that people knew. His Manager wasn't the best at giving concise explanations. His manager usually retold the entire story, word for word. So, it didn't surprise him to learn that his Manager slipped up.

A gasp escaped from Shirley's lips as a realization hit her.

"Were you trying to get into her pants?" Another gasp. "Did she reject you by punching you in the face?"

Lelouch expected those words to come from Suzaku, maybe even Kallen but not Shirley. It shocked him that those theories came from her.

He walked over towards her and clasped a hand around her mouth. He failed to notice the bright red colour washing over Shirley's face for he was too busy trying to see if anyone else in the break room had heard her stupidity.

"What are you saying, Shirley?" He hissed, letting go of her face when he realized the coast was clear.

Her blush didn't vanish at the loss of contact.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just fooling around," she apologized while playing with the ends of her hair. "I was just trying to lighten the mood. Everyone seems so tense."

"Well, it's not working," he scolded her while she lowered her head in embarrassment.

Kallen shook her head, bringing the topic back to Lelouch and why Miss Yukito called in for him.

"But why did Miss Yukito call in for you? It doesn't make any sense."

Annoyed by the questions he already explained to them he would answer later on, Lelouch walked away from the group and towards the elevators. He was done in the break room; he needed to work, to get his mind off of his friends' irritating and childish questions. It was none of their concern why C.C. called in for him. If they actually thought for themselves instead of being gossips, they could have probably figured out that C.C. was present during his accident. It didn't take a brain genius to figure out something like that.

When one of the elevator doors dinged open, he turned his head back to his group of busybody friends.

"I'll explain some other time. Not now; we have work to do."

Sensing that he was fed up, the three just nodded as they followed him into the elevator.

.

.

.

Noon was approaching after a slow morning. Slow mornings usually meant the time ticked by ever so slowly; probably as slow as a snail in a race not to win. The group of Tellers were used to slow days but that didn't mean they hated them. Lelouch hated them because that meant his friends, especially Suzaku, had enough leisure time to assault him with more nosy questions concerning the heiress of the bank.

For the past two hours Lelouch was doing a well job controlling his temper and dwindling patience. But Suzaku was relentless with his questions. There was no stopping him.

"Are you and Miss Yukito friends now?" Was one of the more frequent statements he asked. "Don't tell me she likes you after picking up herself yesterday morning? Did you save her from getting hurt? Is that why you have a bruised cheek? Why did-"

Lelouch growled, patience gone.

"Suzaku!" He scowled, as if lecturing a young boy who asked far too many questions. The best friend shut up immediately, head lowering. "I told you I would tell you everything later, when we're not working but we're working. I know it's not busy at the moment but that doesn't mean we are free to have idle chit-chat." Lelouch's glare grew stronger causing Suzaku to lower his head even more in shame. "I'll tell you everything later; don't make me change my mind."

Suzaku nodded, finally being obedient.

"Fine."

Kallen snorted as Suzaku walked back to his spot on the Teller Line.

"You sure do have an annoying friend."

Lelouch glared in return.

"You bet."

"I didn't mean me!" She shot back when she figured out Lelouch implied she gets on peoples' nerves as well. "You don't see me bothering you about Miss Yukito, now do you? I don't think so."

"Well, you weren't helpful this morning," he pointed out smugly. "You were quite nosy as well. Don't deny it."

But she did.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Lelouch."

"Sure you don't," he remarked while rolling his eyes at her.

And as his eyes rolled they fell onto the green haired heiress who just happened to step into the empty bank lobby. A chorus greeted her respectfully as she waltzed in, looking as arrogant as ever.

C.C. was never one to care about lowly employees bowing down to her; especially on that particular day since she had a mission to complete. Her eyes were searching for something, more so someone. They stopped searching as soon as they caught Lelouch's eyes.

"I wanted to have a word with you," she spoke as she walked over to Lelouch's spot on the Teller Line.

Too taken back by her sudden appearance, Lelouch remained silent. He had no idea why she was there and why she was speaking to him. Well, he kind of had an idea to why she might be speaking to him. He thought C.C. came there to thank him for standing up for her. But he didn't really need a thank you. He wasn't that type of person who did things to try to impress people.

He helped her out yesterday because he simply knew it was the proper thing to do.

"When do you go on your lunch break?" C.C. asked, breaking Lelouch from his thoughts.

He quickly glanced at the clock to his left.

"Not in another ten minutes, wh-"

C.C. reaching over and grabbed the prism that was the _closed_ sign Tellers put on their spots whenever they went home or went on their break. She put it squarely on the counter for all to witness.

"Ten minutes isn't a big deal," she said as Lelouch looked at her, shocked by her actions. "You won't get in trouble for going on your break early, since you've been excused by the daughter of the _big man_. Anyway, c'mon, let's go and have lunch, Lelouch." C.C. looked up at him, smirking playfully.

She turned and walked back towards the revolving doors, expecting Lelouch to follow her. But he didn't. He remained by his counter, not budging.

"I'm sorry but I have to least finish my morning shift. It's only ten minutes," he explained to her back.

C.C. looked back at him, eyes narrow but a smirk still on her lips.

"Look, just come with me for lunch. I can assure you that you will not get in trouble at work for going on lunch early." She glanced around the lobby while gliding back towards him. "And it's not like your busy, anyway. Plus, you can always punch back in early."

His head shook.

"It's an integrity issue," Lelouch started, hoping she would understand his position and personality as a responsible employee for her father. "Just let me-"

Propping her elbows on his counter, C.C. looked up at him beneath her long doll-like eyelashes. Her small face was in her hands by the time she decided to interrupt him from his _I've got integrity _speech.

"My offer for you won't hold out if you make me wait for ten minutes."

Immediately Lelouch's brow arched in confusion. He had no idea what offer she was talking about. Of course, C.C. hadn't mentioned it yet but bringing up the idea of an offer seemed completely random to him.

"What offer?" He asked, perplexed.

"I'll tell you if you come with me right now."

.

.

.

The pair sat opposite of one another at a famous elite Japanese sushi restaurant. Between them was a low mahogany table that matched the red, yellow and brown floor seats they were sitting on. They were waiting for their orders. One was waiting leisurely since she often ate at the fine establishment while the other waited nervously.

Lelouch had never been to such a fancy eatery in his entire life. He saw the menu and the prices were outrageous. A simple dish cost as much as his bi-weekly salary. He was cautious to order; no, he didn't want to order. Because he refused to order C.C. did on his behalf.

"Don't worry, I'll pay."

C.C. telling him that failed to make Lelouch feel any more comfortable. It wasn't just the socialite aura and expensive food that was making him nervous, C.C. was as well. Firstly, she just waltzed into her bank and pulled him out from work. Sure, she reassured him everything would be fine but he was the type that followed regulations. Going on break early was a violation. And secondly, she had mentioned a offer; a offer that seemed to fly by her head as soon as they arrived at the restaurant

A smile caught his eye as C.C. looked at him. The expression on her face was still playful, completely different from the cold arrogant look she had on the previous day.

"You're nervous about my offer, aren't you?" It was if she had read his thoughts.

Lelouch nodded.

"Yes."

"'_Yes._'" C.C. laughed at politeness. "Don't be so formal with me; we're about the same age. Plus, it's not like I told you to remain formal with me." He just nodded again. "And how are we supposed to be _friends_ if you're going to be so formal around me?"

The way she uttered '_friends_' was in a tone Lelouch was not comfortable with. It had a suggestive hint to it but he couldn't wrap his mind around what it could possibly be.

"Friends?" He repeated.

"Yes, _friends_," she nodded. It was said with the same tone again.

He winced.

"Why do you want to be friends with me?"

"Actually, that's part of my offer," C.C. began, laughing a bit before her voice grew serious. "I know about your ill sister in the hospital. I know that the money your grandmother left you isn't enough any more to pay for the bills."

His eyebrow furrowed.

"How did you-"

Holding up her hand, C.C. stopped him from continuing with his question.

"That isn't important but what is important is what I'm about to offer you."

Lelouch's brows furrowed even more as wrinkles began to appear between them, above the bridge of his nose. He didn't know how C.C. found out so much about his life. The only people who knew of his situation were his friends and he was beyond positive they didn't tell anyone else about it. So, C.C. knowing about Nunnally, the hospital and the bills really perplexed him.

"I'll pay for Nunnally's hospital bills if you become my _friend_."

He gawked at her, processing what she said in his mind over and over again until it made sense. There must have been a catch. Nobody in their right mind offered to pay bills in return for friendship. It didn't make any sense no matter how many times he repeated it.

"I couldn't possibly let you do that. It's a lot of money." That was another reason. Lelouch couldn't just let his CEO's daughter pay the bills on his behalf. It seemed wrong. "I'll have to refuse the offer. I apologize."

Her expression darkened at the rejection.

"So, when you have no money left to pay for Nunnally's hospital bills, what are you planning to do? Your salary can't afford to help her. The hospital won't let Nunnally stay with unpaid bills, Lelouch. You know that." She was blackmailing him; she was using Nunnally to make him feel guilty if anything were to happen to her.

"I'll find a way!" Lelouch fought back, defending his choice. "I'm her older brother, I'll do anything to help her."

"If you'll do anything for her, why aren't you accepting my offer then?" C.C. challenged, the corner of her lips tugging into another smirk. "My offer helps us all out. Nunnally will get the help that she needs, you'll be worry free and debt free while I gain a friend."

All of those things were true. If Lelouch were to accept her offer Nunnally could continue to get the medical she needs to recover from her illness. Lelouch will be doing his job as an older brother: he'll be giving her the things she needs, he'll be protecting her and will be saving her life.

"You have nothing to lose."

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* * *

><p><strong>AN:** _I said I would update this when I update GSGC but I didn't. Sorry. I had the file on another computer and forgot to e-mail it to myself, upload here and save it into my USB. But, hey, I updated as soon as I got it. Hooray._

_I hoped you enjoyed the chapter even though nothing interesting has happened yet. I don't really want to rush. But interesting things will take place next chapter. You can finally figure out why C.C. wants Lelouch as a friend. I think it's already implied in this chapter._

_This story will have mature content; next chapter will have mature content. Okay, it's not going to be so mature that it's going to be rated M but I'm just giving a warning to the readers that aren't comfortable with sexual content. Remember this warning!_

_Thank you guys for the reviews. This story got more reviews than when I first published the first chapter [prologue] of GSGC. Speaking of GSGC, I kind of have good news. I can feel my writer's block slowly evaporating but it's slow. So, just be patient with me for that story. I can assure you though that GSGC will be complete in March. Hooray._


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